Ben Franklin's World

On October 28, 1776, the two armies of the American Revolutionary War met in White Plains, a small town about 30 miles north of New York City. Westchester County remained a wedge between the British Army to the south and the Continental Army to the north.
For the remaining seven years of the war, both British and American patrols monitored the roads of the county, tracking enemy movement and occasionally skirmishing. Locals leaned one way or the other, sometimes changed sides, and often found themselves at odds with their neighbors.
Char Weigel, a historian with Revolutionary Westchester 250, investigates how the county became a "neutral ground” and offers us a window into how, for residents, the Revolution felt like a civil war.
Show notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/454
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:00:00 Introduction
00:10:16 How Westchester Farmers Fed New York City
00:14:08 Dutch Influence in Westchester
00:22:30 The War Arrives in Westchester in 1776
00:30:50 What Local Families Saw during the Battle of White Plains
00:34:51 Life in the Neutral Ground between the Armies
00:38:24 Women, Native Americans, and Enslaved People in the Neutral Ground
00:51:22 The Benedict Arnold Plot and the Spy Caught in Westchester
00:58:23 Washington Irving and the American Revolution's Legacy
01:02:46 Lessons from a Divided County
01:08:49 Final Thoughts
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 055: John Jay: Forgotten Founder
🎧 Episode 065: Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Network
🎧 Episode 324: New Netherland and Slavery
🎧 Episode 332: Experiences of Revolution, Part 1: Occupied Philadelphia
🎧 Episode 333: Experiences of Revolution, Part 2: Disruptions in Yorktown
🎧 Episode 437: Civilian Life in Revolutionary War Occupied Cities
🎧 Episode 452: How Everyday Loyalists Experienced the American Revolution

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*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

All year, we’ve explored the American Revolution from many vantage points, from its politics and battles to the experiences of women, enslaved and free people of color, Native Americans, and Loyalists.
In this episode, we’re going to take an LBGTQ+ lens to the Revolution.
Three historians, Rachel Hope Cleves, Jen Manion, and John McCurdy bring together different stories to explore how everyday LGBTQ+ people took part in the American Revolution and how its legacy shaped LGBTQ+ lives in the new United States.
Rachel’s Book | Jen’s Book | John’s Book
Show notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/453
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:02 Meet Our Guest Historians
00:06:51 LGBTQ+ Lives and Language in the Revolutionary Era
00:14:21 Finding a Same-Sex Marriage in the Archives
00:24:16 A British Army Chaplain Under Suspicion
00:28:33 Reading Through the Bias of Trial Transcripts
00:35:37 Fluid Identities and Historical Erasure
00:37:57 Military Service as a Path to Reinvention
00:47:40 War, Upheaval, and New Possibilities
00:54:24 LGBTQ+ People and the Culture of the New Nation
01:10:10 Final Thoughts
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 004: Sex and the Founding Fathers: The American Quest for a Relatable Past
🎧 Episode 013: Charity & Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America
🎧 Episode 278: Polygamy: An Early American History
🎧 Episode 359: Trans-ing Gender in Early America
🎧 Episode 414: Robert Newburgh’s Trials: Queerness & Reputation in Revolutionary America
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In late spring 1776, 150 armed revolutionary soldiers marched into the Anglican Trinity Church to warn the reverend to stop praying for King George III and his family. The reverend read the prayers anyway. Later that year, another Anglican reverend faced the same choice but made the opposite decision.
Throughout our recent conversations about Loyalism, we’ve heard that religion shaped the loyalty choices many early Americans made. In this revisited episode, Kate Carté helps us explore how the British Empire was a Protestant Empire and how the Revolution broke religious bonds, as well as political bonds.
Kate’s Book
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 214: Skepticism & American Faith
🎧 Episode 317: Jewish colonists in Early America
🎧 Episode 356: The Moravian Church in North America
🎧 Episode 392: Religion and Race in Early America
🎧 Episode 399: Denmark Vesey’s Bible
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We often ask why some Americans chose to remain loyal to the British and why they did not want to seek independence. But the question some Americans asked at the time of the Revolution focused more on navigating daily life: How could they protect their families, property, and honor when neighbors, committees, and crowds decided what side they were on?
Today we’re joined by three guests who will help us investigate the American Revolution through Loyalist eyes and explore how Loyalists experienced the American Revolution.
Timothy Compeau, an Associate Professor of History at Huron University College at Western University in London, Ontario; Bonnie Huskins who teaches history at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick; and Kacy Tillman, a professor of English and Writing at the University of Tampa.
Timothy's Book | Bonnie's Work | Kacy's Book
Show notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/452
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:00:00 Introduction
00:06:07 The Origins and Definitions of the Term “Loyalist”
00:11:11 Common Misconceptions about Loyalists
00:22:52 How Communities Identified their Loyalist Neighbors
00:31:34 How Everyday Loyalists Experienced the Revolution
00:40:19 Women Loyalists and the Fear of Violence
00:50:40 Black Loyalists and the Search for Freedom
01:00:05 Post-War Animosities Between Loyalists and Revolutionaries
01:09:12 What We Still Get Wrong About the Revolution
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 085: American Loyalists in Canada
🎧 Episode 126: The Reintegration of American Loyalists
🎧 Episode 380: The Tory's Wife
🎧 Episode 421: Loyalism and Revolution in Georgia
🎧 Episode 441: The Escapes of David George
SUPPORT OUR WORK
🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s World
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*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

What would it take for you to forgive a neighbor who sided against you in a civil war? And what would you say to win back a community that you had fought against?
In our last episode, we explored loyalism across the Atlantic World and met Loyalists who, as serious political actors, had their own ideas about how the British Empire should operate. But the story of Loyalism didn’t end with the founding of the United States, nor with the end of the war.
In this revisited episode, Rebecca Brannon explores how South Carolina’s War for Independence was a true civil war, one that pitted neighbor against neighbor and, in some instances, fathers against sons.
Rebecca’s Book | Website
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 126: Reintegration of Loyalists in South Carolina
🎧 Episode 294: 1774: The Long Year of Revolution
🎧 Episode 330: Loyalism in the British Atlantic World
🎧 Episode 380: The Tory’s Wife
🎧 Episode 421: Loyalism and Revolution in Georgia
SUPPORT OUR WORK
🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s World
REQUEST A TOPIC
📨 Topic Request Form
📫 liz@benfranklinsworld.com
WHEN YOU'RE READY
🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter
👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community
🌍 Join the History Explorers Club
TAKE THE QUIZ
🧭 Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes)
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LISTEN 🎧
🍎 Apple Podcasts
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CONNECT
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SAY THANKS
💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
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*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.